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The Franchise: As yet just the one film, but since it happens to be highest grossing film ever made, sequels are inevitable.
The Fandom: At the time of its release, there was a brief outbreak of fervour for the immersive realism of Pandora, with Avatards expressing their preference for a fictional world populated by giant Smurfs for real life. Not much different from any other fandom, then.
Most Amazing Example Of Devotion: Any Cosplayers who are prepared to paint themselves blue . We salute you.
Mad Max
The Franchise: Post-punk, post-apocalypse and generally postal, as loco Mel Gibson faces off against sadistic bikers and big-haired Tina Turner.
The Fandom: There isn't a dedicated fan base for Max's adventures, although they might just be lying low since Gibson started acting crazy in real life. Perhaps things will change when Tom Hardy takes over the character in Fury Road ; until then, there's this guy to keep the flame burning...
Most Amazing Example Of Devotion: British fan Adrian Bennett upped sticks and moved to Australia to be closer to the setting of his favourite film series, going so far as to open a museum of his self-built replica vehicles.
Clue
The Film: A surprising one, this but Jonathan Lynn's critically derided 1985 adaptation of the murder mystery board game has become a cult favourite, thanks largely to its insane multi-climax plot and cast of U.S. comedy veterans.
The Fandom: Clue fans aren't a big enough breed to warrant their own subcultural handle - Cluedos? - but as this article points out , there are a lot of them about.
Most Amazing Example Of Devotion: Sins o' the Flesh, the group responsible for Los Angeles' midnight screenings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show , holds an annual 'shadowcast' screening of Clue where actors interact with the on-screen characters.
Evil Dead
The Franchise: All long-running horror franchises have their fans, but none inspires quite the devotion of Sam Raimi's splatstick comedy-horror trilogy… if not, as yet, the more serious 2013 reboot.
The Fandom: With all due respect to Sam Raimi, this one is basically the cult of Ash, with plenty of crossover to other films in which Bruce Campbell has taken a role, notably Bubba Ho-tep .
Most Amazing Example Of Devotion: A group of Canadians created a stage musical version of the first film, which enjoyed an off-Broadway run in 2006.
A Christmas Story
The Film: It isn't only the obvious hits that garner fan love. A case in point is Bob Clark's 1983 Yuletide drama, relatively unknown in the UK but a staple of the television schedules in North America.
The Fandom: Seasonal. Most simply ignore the film until December, when - thanks to TNT's tradition of showing the film in a 24 hour loop during Christmas Eve and Christmas Day - they go nuts for it.
Most Amazing Example Of Devotion: In 2008, a 25th anniversary convention was held at the actual house which formed the film's main location.
This Is Spinal Tap
The Film: Rob Reiner's 'mockumentary' about the (fictional) English heavy metal band (played, in fact, by American actors) is the pioneer of staged fly-on-the-wall comedies.
The Fandom: Heavy metal fans, obviously, but also - aptly - the bands themselves, many of whom have stated that the film is a mercilessly accurate spoof of life on the road.
Most Amazing Example Of Devotion: Anybody who goes to see Spinal Tap play a gig - either they have an unshakeable love of irony, or they really, really like the band's songs.
Donnie Darko
The Film: Richard Kelly's debut mixed 1980s nostalgia with trippy sci-fi to produce the 21st century's first cult movie. Whatever happened to Kelly?
The Fandom: Donnie Darko became one of the first cult hits of the Internet age, with numerous fan sites - not to mention the official one - dedicated to explaining the film's theory of time travel.
Most Amazing Example Of Devotion: A refreshingly old-school approach by one New York cinema to run midnight screenings for 28 consecutive months, despite the film's availability on DVD.
The Sound Of Music
The Film: The big-screen version of the musical about a singing nun who gets one over on the Nazis was the biggest box-office hit of the 1960s and is still, if adjusted for inflation, one of the highest-grossing films ever.
The Fandom: Can something as popular as The Sound Of Music be said to have fans, or is it just that everybody likes it? Well, given that many folk make the pilgrimage to Salzburg on specialist Sound Of Music tours, it's a fair bet that some people like the film more than others.
Most Amazing Example Of Devotion: Created for the London Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, the Sing-a-long Sound Of Music is now a global phenomenon giving fans the opportunity to dress up as nuns and sing their hearts out as the lyrics play out on screen.
50 Shades Of Grey
The Franchise: E.L. James' bestsellers about a sado-masochistic relationship shifted the paradigm in terms of publishing - the first novel was originally a self-published Twilight fan-fiction - and is set to become a film next year, providing Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan don't get cold feet.
The Fandom: Early days yet, but judging from the millions of words already spewed out onto the Internet about who should play Grey, this is the next big thing - regardless of how the film turns out.
Most Amazing Example Of Devotion: Inevitably, James' example has led the book's fans to attempt their own stories involving the characters. Be warned.
Tron
The Franchise: Steven Lisberger's sci-fi movie is renowned for its pioneering computer FX. Even so, it seemed an unlikely hotbed for a franchise until belated sequel Tron Legacy arrived in 2010.
The Fandom: Confined mainly to the tech-geek crowd, but said crowd includes some influential names including Pixar boss John Lasseter and Daft Punk, who love the film so much they provided the soundtrack for the sequel.
Most Amazing Example Of Devotion: Tron 's biggest fan is Jay Maynard, who built his own electroluminescent suit in which he's appeared in adverts and even auditioned on America's Got Talent . (He didn't get through.)
